This dissertation presents the life story of Freda Diesing, artist, teacher, and the first Haida
woman known to become a professional carver. Diesing holds the Haida name Skilquewat,
which translates as the descriptive phrase "On the trail of Property Woman." This phrase makes
an appropriate title, as it reflects both the research process and the form of the written result.
Diesing's life is not presented here as a monolith discovered, singular and clearly bounded, but
rather as an organic accretive identity, constantly in the process of construction and negotiation.
Diesing defines herself in relation to her mother and her grandmother, and her stories tell how
they negotiated their own identities during times of rapid cultural change. For all three women
changes in Haida culture under pressure from wider Canadian society tended to emphasize the
role of women in the domestic sphere, as wives and mothers, while mmimizing their wider
political and social impact. Diesing, a woman of mixed ethnic decent, who married late, has no
children, lives only on the mainland and grows increasingly independent and active as an elderly
widow, resists easy classification. She performs her own identity variably, depending upon her
audience.
By developing her identity as a Haida artist and teacher Diesing has been able to negotiate a
position of continuing respect and influence appropriate to her chiefly heritage, despite
inauspicious circumstances in her own life and in the contemporary history of the Haida people.
Yet it is not being recognized as an artist or a master carver that has been Diesing's primary
intention. Rather she has used her art itself as a tool in achieving a goal she defines as most
important: helping both Natives and non-Natives understand and take pride in the indigenous
cultural heritage of the Northwest Coast. More than an artist, Freda Diesing is a teacher.
Through the stories she tells, and through her own life's example, she reminds us all of the
continuing vitality of Northwest Coast cultures, and especially of the important contributions of
women in Coastal society.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/13610 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Slade, Mary Anne Barbara |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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